A Lawyer for Mr Merridew
by Angelfirey
Summary: You are a defense attorney who has been contacted by Jack's parents. They are asking you to defend their son, who has been charged with the murders of Simon and Piggy. Will you take the case? A school assignment turned fanfic. Crossover


Author's Note: I took a few creative liberties on a school assignment, and this was the result. Enjoy!

A Lawyer for Mr. Merridew

"So you see," says Mr. Merridew, with the forced calm of someone facing their last option, "that's why we need you."

Mrs. Merridew, sitting next to her husband, sniffles quietly. She dabs weakly at her face with a sodden handkerchief and smiles with splotchy red cheeks, as if she can maintain her composure for any length of time.

The Merridew's son, Jack, is the reason we're all here together in this happy family gathering. He sits on his mother's other side, close enough for her to be comforted by his presence, but far enough away for him to be able to pretend to be alone. He has bright, bleached orange-red hair, which strongly contrasts his dark tan. He's been staring out my office window since he got here and hasn't said a single word to either me or his parents.

The prosecution has charged Jack with two counts of first degree murder for deaths of Simon P. Sykic and Port "Piggy" Lee. At first glance, both cases seem pretty solid; Jack had motive, opportunity, and ability to commit both. However, a closer examination of the facts surrounding both deaths reveals a myriad of complexities and headaches in the making.

Piggy's death is arguably the simplest to defend against. In a spur of the moment decision, Roger Wylde, levered the rock that tumbled down the cliff face and killed Piggy. From an evidentiary standpoint, Jack had nothing to do with the actual act of murder. However, prior to this event, Jack had made it abundantly clear that he detested Piggy and had even gone out of his way to bully the boy around a bit. (Not that the parents told me this or anything – you'd think after a murder charge, a little thing like your child's tendency to bully would be an easy thing to confess… – but I can rival the local gumshoe when it comes to finding out information about potential clients.)

This is where speculation makes the case nasty. Did Jack's hatred of Piggy leak over into Roger's thought process and "cause" him to kill Piggy? Was Jack counting on Roger to become fed up with Piggy and "teach him a lesson"? Or did Roger act independently and of his own reckless accord?

The controversy surrounding Simon's death is even greater. Simon was beaten to death by more than a dozen boys in the dark of night, in the middle of a storm, in a crazed war-like frenzy led by Jack. This situation is already messy and this is before the obvious questions begin.

Clearly, Jack was involved in Simon's death, but how much? It was dark and rainy; did Jack recognize Simon in the elements when he and the other boys attacked him? If so, did he intend to kill Simon? Did he try to stop the boys from attacking Simon, if he did recognize Simon? _Could _he have stopped the boys if he wanted? Why was he leading the boys in a "war-dance" anyways? Its obvious Jack had a role in Simon's death, but it's just as obvious that Simon didn't die at his hands alone. But does that make him any less guilty?

"Please," says Mrs. Merridew, tearfully. She reaches out to hold her husband's hand. "Will you help my baby?"

I don't know, I want to tell her. There are so many questions left unanswered. Questions that I know the prosecutor, in his stupid purple, poofy suit, is going to have a field day with.

I don't even know if the kid is guilty or innocent. He certainly seems guilty, but then again, I've defended truly innocent clients with more evidence against them (and gotten them free too!)

I look over to Jack for inspiration and to my surprise, he looks back at me.

Our eyes meet and in that instant, I realize something – the kid feels guilty; regardless of his actual state of guilt, he feels absolutely, soul-crushingly guilty. He feels guilty for the role he played, no matter how small, and even for the death he didn't even commit.

And he'd do it all again if he could.

Jack feels guilty and no doubt regrets everything he's done, but given the chance, he'd do everything all over again in an instant, simply because he could. He had a once in a lifetime opportunity to rule a colony of peers according to _his_ rules and as _he_ saw fit, and he took full advantage of it, regardless of the consequences.

Jack lives in the moment; right now the moment is sad, solemn, and subdued, but later the moment will change and so will he.

Mr. Merridew shifts slightly in his seat and the tension in the room settles quite comfortably on my shoulders. I have to make a decision and I have to make it now.

This will not be an easy case, I know. The prosecutor will see the same thing in the boy's eyes as I did and will go after him like a shark after blood. He will shred Jack to ribbons if he gets on the stand and bury him alive in witness testimonies and other evidence.

A part of me really doesn't want to take this case. Legally, I know, there's nothing binding me to the Merridews. I'm not court-appointed and there are other defense attorneys out there. The Merridews can always find someone else.

On the other hand…

The boy is not guilty of first degree murder.

First degree murder is defined as a deliberate, premeditated killing. Neither death was deliberate or even approaching premeditated. Everything else is debatable, but the fact remains.

Jack Merridew is not guilty of what he has been charged.

And he needs to be defended against these accusations.

I take a deep breath and smile. I've made my decision and I know what I'm going to do now. "Of course, I'll take your case."

Mrs. Merridew breaks down into sobs and collapses onto her husband's shoulder. "Oh thank you so much, Mr. Wright."

"Please, call me Phoenix."

Fin


End file.
